There’s certainly plenty to talk about in this week’s Running Back Roundup. We got our first look at the new backfield committees in Philadelphia and Miami, Doug Martin and Aaron Jones disappeared, Marshawn Lynch reappeared, Leonard Fournette was a surprise inactive, and Christian McCaffrey got his first shot at feature back duties. And to top it all off, this could be the week where we finally find out whether Ezekiel Elliott will serve his suspension this season!
We’ll cover all that plus the latest RB news and notes for the Cardinals, Falcons, and Broncos.
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Philadelphia Eagles
Newly-acquired running back Jay Ajayi was reportedly going to be involved in a limited package of plays in his first week with the Eagles, and that turned out to be the case. But Ajayi made the most of his opportunities, carrying the ball eight times for 77 yards and a TD. LeGarrette Blount (nine carries for 37 yards) slightly out-touched Ajayi, as expected. But it was fairly surprising that Corey Clement ended up leading the backfield with 13 touches, which he converted into 66 yards and three (!) touchdowns.
Part of Clement’s involvement was probably due to Ajayi’s limited workload, and part of it was likely a result of the uncompetitive nature of the Eagles’ victory. But Clement was primarily involved on passing downs, and that should continue if he’s passed Wendell Smallwood on the depth chart.
It’s quite possible all four backs will continue to see action, particularly if the Eagles continue to play with big leads in the second half of games. Ajayi is the best fantasy bet, but only time will tell if he receives a large enough workload coming out of the Eagles’ bye week to be an RB1. Blount is still worth owning until he is phased out of the game plan, and he could still wind up with some RB3/flex value depending on how he is utilized. Clement is worth adding for RB-needy owners, and could also end up being flex-worthy even in standard leagues if he can monopolize the passing down work. As the current fourth option, Smallwood is a drop candidate, particularly as Philadelphia heads into its bye week.
Miami Dolphins
The team that dealt Ajayi also had a new backfield mix on display on Sunday, and the early results were promising, even though they came against a soft Raiders defense.
Kenyan Drake and Damien Williams were used interchangeably, and both backs showed good elusiveness and the ability to catch passes and break tackles. The box score would suggest that Drake (nine carries for 69 yards) was the far superior runner to Williams (seven carries for 14 yards), but the rushing numbers are a bit deceiving. Drake’s stats are inflated by one 42-yard run; on his other eight carries, he was only marginally better than Williams. And Williams had a 30-yard run of his own that was called back by a penalty. Both backs also caught six passes — Drake for 35 yards, and Williams for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Right now, it is hard to identify definitive roles for Drake and Williams. They look to have similar skill sets, and either could be used on early downs, passing downs, or at the goal line. The good news is that both backs appear set to boost their production with receiving work, and it is also a big help that the Miami offense and Jay Cutler are finally showing some signs of life. For now, I would anticipate a fairly even touch distribution between Drake and Williams, which makes both of them decent flex options in standard and PPR leagues alike.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs were a complete disaster against the Saints, and it spelled doom for all of the team’s skill position players.
Doug Martin carried the ball eight times for just seven yards. With the Bucs already down 16-3 at halftime, Martin ran the ball twice for four yards to begin the third quarter and was not heard from again. Coach Dirk Koetter then turned to Peyton Barber — not Jacquizz Rodgers — who ended up with 11 carries for 34 yards and two catches for 20 yards. After the game, Koetter said that the team was “just trying to find a way to get something going,” and that Barber “found a way to get some yards after contact.”
It is very hard to believe that Martin will lose his starting job over one poor performance, so his owners shouldn’t panic unless we see him lose carries to Barber again next week. While Jameis Winston (injury) and Mike Evans (suspension) will be following up their rough week with missed time, Martin will get a shot at redemption in Week 10 in an inviting home matchup against the Jets’ 24th ranked run defense.
Green Bay Packers
Coming off a 131-yard effort and a bye week, Aaron Jones is another running back who had a week to forget in Week 9. Jones managed just 11 yards on seven touches as the Packers were soundly beaten by the Lions. Ty Montgomery turned his six touches into 51 yards, and third-stringer Jamaal Williams scored a touchdown on the game’s final play, pouring more salt in the wounds of Jones owners.
Jones got most of the playing time in the first quarter, but Montgomery ultimately ended up out-snapping him, 24-20. Some of Montgomery’s production can probably be attributed to the Packers playing in hurry-up mode, but he was the Packers’ starting RB to begin the season, so Jones owners have a bit more reason to be concerned than Doug Martin owners do. Jones and Montgomery owners alike will need to watch this situation closely in the weeks ahead, but at the moment an even timeshare looks like a distinct possibility. Such an arrangement would make it virtually impossible to rely on either as an RB2 while they are playing in a Brett Hundley offense that is stuck in neutral.
Oakland Raiders
After missing almost two entire games due to an ejection and suspension for shoving a referee, Marshawn Lynch returned with his best fantasy performance of the season on Sunday night (16 touches for 63 yards and two TDs). It wasn’t a massive workload, but it was the first time Lynch topped 15 touches since Week 1, and he is now averaging a solid 4.45 YPC over his last 29 attempts. Most importantly, Oakland created the scoring opportunities for Lynch that his owners were banking on when they drafted him. Lynch won’t be a high-volume runner, but the Oakland offense could keep him in the RB2 conversation if they can continue to put points on the board.
With Lynch back in action, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington went back to evenly sharing the backup duties, confirming that nothing had changed during Lynch’s absence. Neither is an appealing flex option or necessary hold in 12-team leagues.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Leonard Fournette provided fantasy owners with a good reminder to always check their lineups prior to kickoff on Sundays, as I explained in this week’s “10 Thing We Learned” column:
Seemingly healthy coming out of the Jaguars’ bye week, Fournette was a last-minute inactive after reportedly missing several team events during the week, including a team photo.
While T.J. Yeldon broke off a long touchdown run in Fournette’s injury-related absence in Week 7, Chris Ivory reestablished himself as Fournette’s handcuff in Week 9, out-touching Yeldon 23-to-13 and out-gaining him 103-to-52. Fournette is expected back next week and will remain an RB1 as long as he stays out of head coach Doug Marrone’s doghouse.
Ivory won’t have a ton of standalone value once Fournette is back, but he’s one of the better RB stashes out there, given the Jaguars ability to run the ball and Fournette’s injury history.
Carolina Panthers
I also provided my thoughts on Christian McCaffrey‘s emergence in my “10 Thing We Learned” column. Click through to see the details, but the bottom line is that Kelvin Benjamin‘s departure and Jonathan Stewart‘s declining skills have opened the door for McCaffrey to be the true offensive focal point in Carolina. He received a career-high 20 touches in Week 9, and can easily provide RB2 value with that kind of workload.
Dallas Cowboys
On Thursday, a three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hold a hearing on Ezekiel Elliott‘s request for an emergency injunction that would allow him to continue to play until the courts decide whether his six-game suspension is warranted. If the emergency injunction is denied, Elliott will begin serving his suspension immediately. If it is granted, he will likely be able to play for the rest of the season.
Elliott’s status for this coming Sunday is further clouded by the question of when the judges will rule on the emergency injunction. If they deny it on Friday, Elliott will miss this week’s game and return for Week 16. If they deny it next week, Elliott will miss Weeks 11-16, making him droppable in the majority of leagues that are over before Week 17. (And if they grant the injunction, his owners can breathe a sigh of relief).
With Elliott seemingly set to begin serving the suspension last week, it was confirmed that Alfred Morris was in line to start in Elliott’s absence, with Rod Smith serving as the number two back and Darren McFadden third on the depth chart. Morris looks like the best fantasy option at the moment, but all three should be owned until we get some much-needed clarity on the situation.
Arizona Cardinals
Adrian Peterson plowed over Father Time in Week 9, setting both a career-high for carries and NFL record for carries by a running back that is 30 or older. Peterson ended up with 159 rushing yards, the second time in three games that he has topped 130 yards on the ground.
Peterson has tough matchups coming up (Seahawks, Texans, Jaguars), and Carson Palmer‘s season-ending injury limits his upside. But AP’s expected rushing volume should make him a solid RB2 for the rest of the season, even if he isn’t running for 130 yards every week.
Atlanta Falcons
Devonta Freeman owners have to be pretty frustrated at this point. Sunday marked the fourth straight game in which Freeman received 12 or fewer carries, after averaging over 19 carries per game from Weeks 2-4. Freeman is still on pace to almost exactly match his rushing attempts, yards, and scores from last season, but the bigger concern is his dwindling receiving output — his average receiving yardage has steadily dropped since 2015, and he has yet to catch a TD pass this year. Without the security blanket of steady receiving work, Freeman will need the Falcons to recommit to the run in order to regain his standing as an RB1.
Tevin Coleman, meanwhile, somehow continues to produce for his fantasy owners even though he is not getting the football with any consistency. Coleman has only topped 10 touches three times, yet he has at least 89 yards or a touchdown in six of his eight games. It’s unlikely he’ll continue to score every time he puts up a less-than-impressive yardage total, but the bottom line is that he has achieved RB2 value in standard leagues since the beginning of the 2016 season.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos were blown out by the Eagles on Sunday and have now lost four straight games. They recently switched QBs in search of a spark for the moribund offense, so the question now is whether a shift at RB is also in store.
While Jamaal Charles has yet to see any meaningful increase in his playing time, Devontae Booker played just one fewer snap and handled one fewer touch than starter C.J. Anderson in Week 9. Anderson’s workload has already declined dramatically since Week 4, and while he’s still averaging a healthy enough 4.2 YPC, it’s at least conceivable that he could be a victim of circumstance. The touch distribution may have just been a result of the blowout loss, but it would hardly be surprising to see Booker get more work in the weeks ahead.
Anderson, who hasn’t scored since Week 2 or topped 100 yards since Week 4, can no longer be counted on as an every-week RB2, although he does still have appeal in strong matchups. And Booker is the preferred stash over Charles while we wait to see if the Broncos begin to change things up.
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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
